Assessing San Juan Island Archaeological Resources from the Inside Out: Collections and Site Overview, Assessment and Research Design

Project ID: J8W07090012

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Partner Institution: University of Washington

Fiscal Year: 2009

Initial Funding: $57,988

Total Funding: $83,411

Project Type: Technical Assistance

Project Disciplines: Cultural

National Park: San Juan Island National Historic Park

Principal Investigator: Lape, Peter

Agreement Technical Representative: Haertel, Kirstie

Abstract: There are three main objectives for this project. The first goal includes amassing past and on-going research information (spatial data, archaeological interpretations, and assemblage descriptions) associated with sites and ethnography at San Juan Island National Historical Park (SAJH) to contextualize the archaeological history and culture shifts. The second objective is to address collection care issues identified by the University of Washington (UW), Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (UW Burke) archaeology curator and collection manager and National Park Service (NPS) regional and park archaeology employees. These issues include laboratory processing of previously excavated materials, updating artifact housing and entering data into the NPS/UW Burke shared collection database (ANCS+). The expected outcome of the assemblage processing and data synthesis efforts is a better understanding of information gaps and research needs. The ultimate product from this collaborative project will be an Archaeological Overview, Assessment and Research Design (NPS document) for management use and research guidance and improved collection documentation for both the NPS and the UW.